“How long until we’re live Dave?”

“Thirty seconds.”

“Can someone get me some water?”

“Here’s a copy of the guilds entering, and the pronunciations next to them.”

“Okay everyone clear the area, we’re going live in five, four, three, two...”

As the countdown ended, projections activated in cities all across Genesis and, out of the game, the footage went live to hundreds of different venues as well as the news networks own channel. “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, for all those who’ve made it to Macross this year and for the hundreds of millions tuning in to watch, welcome, to the championship games.”

Two people sat in a small booth, behind a window looking out on the central arena. One an orcish warrior wearing a black suit, looking cramped in behind the average sized desk, the other a vampiric woman in a sleeveless red dress and a wide hat to match.

“Tonight,” she said in a lilting voice, “I’m Mindy Lawless, joined by Brutal Bob, Games veteran and second in command of the Banishing Light guild.”

“It’s great to be here Mindy. The two of us will be bringing you all the news of the games for the next few weeks, as well as broadcasting the major events. With the opening ceremony just minutes away, the atmosphere in the arena is positively electric. And that’s certainly understandable since this is the first time the games have been held since the upheaval. Old balances have shifted and the guilds that once dominated certain events are still trying to get back on their feet. Even the smallest guild has a real shot this time of taking out the top place.”

“That’s right Bob, and we’ve got more guilds than ever this year, coming from the furthest reaches of Genesis. From the frozen wastes in the north to the blood seas in the south, two hundred and fourteen guilds have put forth teams to try and take the gold.”

“And with so many people throwing their hat in the ring, we can expect to see some truly amazing things in the weeks to come. Makes me wish I could get out there myself, but it’s time to hand off that job to my juniors.”

“After your string of gold medals in the freestyle single combat events, people are certainly sorry to see you make your exit Bob. But I hope you won’t be favouring your own guild during the games.” She said, chuckling lightly as a slight pained look crossed the orc’s face.

“No problems there Mindy, I'm here to give unbiased commentary, and to make sure the audience is caught up on all the action. I’ll definitely be cheering on a few friends of mine when they get into the arena though.”

Mindy hesitated for a moment after seeing his expression before straightening up and getting back to her lines.

“Well, it’s time for the guilds competing this year to send out their representatives before the lighting of the torch, the official commencement of the games. Let’s switch over to our people on the ground to give people a better look at some of this year’s players.”

The cameraman gave a wave. “Good job you two; you’re clear for the next five minutes.”

Mindy span around to face Bob, panicked. “God, I’m sorry, I mean I was briefed a few minutes ago but it just completely slipped-”

He cut her off, waving her words away. “Relax, those problems are between me and shits in the guild who are trying to kick me out. It came across as natural conversation, so it’s okay, just... try and avoid the topic if you can; it’s still a bit of a sore point.”

“I... ok, I just don't want to screw this up. I was only a field reporter a while ago and now I'm a prime anchor for the Champion Games! I am so far out of my depth here.” She said, waving at her eyes to keep them dry as she began tearing up.

“How’d you get this gig then?”

“I was the only reporter around during the Ardenvale incident, so I got promoted a lot after that, and I was already in the area.”

“Really? Our guild was involved in that mess as well, I’m surprised I don't remember seeing you. I've done enough interviews to know the difference between a good reporter and a terrible one to know you’ve got what it takes, so let me tell you three things. First, we have a makeup department here, let them take care of your face real quick. Second, no matter who you are, when the camera is on, you’re whoever people think you are, so just fill that role and don't worry about anything else.”

“Right,” she said as someone touched up her makeup quickly. “And the third?”

He grinned, his tusks shining white. “Listen to the person behind the camera; he’s the one who knows what’s happening.”

A person with a notepad nodded to the two of them. “I sure do Bob, and you’re back in three, two...”

“Some really formidable people down there wouldn’t you say Mindy?”

“A real range of players from all sorts of classes, from brawlers to bards, crafters to clerics, warriors to wizards. With the large number of guilds entering, we’re seeing a number of classes that have never entered into the games before, something that’s sure to turn heads. In fact, the current hot topic guilds, “Rising Moon”, have entered a team after their takeover of a city, and will be fielding a team of people with classes not often seen in public.”

“It’ll certainly be interesting to see what they can do in their events, but now let’s turn our attention to the arena, where things are about to begin...”

~~~~~~

“Are you sure that I look ok Athena?” Jicker asked for the fifth time.

“I keep telling you, you look fine. Now just relax and stand up straight, we’re next in the parade.” She said, hushing him once again.

Since he was now a competing member for the guild, Jicker had been required to participate in the ceremony, and had to wear the standard black cloak worn by the guild. The only ones they had that were close to his size however were a few spares belonging to Athena, leading to a quick few minutes of alteration to get it to fit properly. The big problem was his ears, that just wouldn’t fit properly under the hood, leaving them with no option but cutting slits into the hood to have poke out the sides. Being the only point of colour in their procession, they did stand out a bit, but since he was small, they figured he could just stay in the middle and it’d be fine.

“Are we ready to go yet Oda?” she asked, turning around.

“We head on in after the Red Horse guild over there.” He said, cupping a glowing stone to his ear while wincing.

“Something wrong?” Jicker asked.

“The announcers mentioned us specifically.” He huffed. “We didn’t really need the extra attention right now. But that’s just how things are so get ready to move.”

“Should I do anything?” Gabe asked, generating some glowing snowflakes over an outstretched hand. “I could make a blizzard to follow us, just a little one..?”

“Now’s not the time for being fancy Gabe, it’s time for you to put on your serious face.”

Gabe nodded before touching a chain on his neck, dismissing an illusion he constantly wore. His normal cheerful face was revealed for what it truly was, half that of a preserved corpse, the other covered in a fine frost, locked in a deathly glare. His frame became gaunt as his muscles seemed to rot away, his normal golden hair replaced with a fine mane of twisted black ice.

“Right, then let’s be serious then.” He said, his voice cracked and raw, dropping his hood to ensure viewers got the full effect.

Jicker shivered as he watched the transformation. While they often acted immature and were just having fun, he had to remind himself that the elite in the guild were some of the strongest players in the game. The thought made him smile however, since having fun within Genesis was the whole point, and why he’d made the decisions he had.

“Aaaand here we go people!” Athena said, pushing them into motion.

Stepping out of the shaded corridor, they were momentarily blinded by the glaring lights of the arena, the sounds of the audience becoming to a dull roar that filled the air. The arena was packed, cheering people of all kinds as far as the eye could see, all eagerly awaiting the coming entertainment of the weeks to follow.

“And here we have the Rising Moon!” the announcers exclaimed, their voices projected over the arena, as much of the cheering turned to jeering and foul slurs. “The self proclaimed guild of outcasts, the misjudged and the mistreated. They’ve recently taken control of the city of Ardenvale, so make no mistake that they’re going to be some strong competitors.”

“That’s right Bob, some truly fearsome players are amongst their ranks. But it seems not everyone is a fan of their work.”

“Well, not everyone likes people who challenge the norm Mindy, but I don't think anyone can find a fault with the guild entering the arena now.”

Jicker turned to see who had followed them, out and was surprised to see that they looked somewhat familiar, all wearing grey jackets and bowler hats. Men and women alike wore the same uniform, all armed with the oddly placed umbrella as they strolled out. The men hade same impeccably groomed moustache, while a number of the ladies were wearing monocles on fine gold chains.

“The Followers of Sir Bradley, a guild inspired by Macross’ own gentleman adventurer. While he has no actual connection to the guild himself, by following his ideals they’ve become a force dedicated to doing what’s right, if not always legal. While a fairly new guild, they already have a member or two in dozens of cities, doing what they can to help people stick to the right path.”

“That guy has a following that big?” Jicker muttered.

“What’s that?” Oda said from beside him, not turning to face him.

“Bradley. I met him the other day, but I didn’t realise he had a cult.” He said jokingly.

“They're no cult, though there’s definitely a comparison to be made. Like the announcer said, they really are good guys, no matter the odds they always follow their moral compass, and they’re kicked out immediately if they do otherwise. Bradley approves of them but doesn’t like telling people what to do, so he apparently refused to be a part of the guild, instead keeping to himself. In fact it’s considered to be good luck if you run into him around the city, so maybe that’s a sign we can win this thing.”

“Were there any in Ardenvale?”

“Two of them in fact. And before you ask, they didn’t actually pick a side, instead just keeping civilians out of harm’s way as much as possible. They’ve gone back to doing their thing since our take over, now try and stay quiet, we’re on camera.

Sure enough, a number of winged constructs flew over them, carrying the crystal arrays that served as cameras, projecting their images to the world as they flew by. For a brief moment there was a picture of him in front of millions, and then they swept past to the next guild coming through. Once they walked out they slowly paraded their way around the arena before going to their assigned point. It took over half an hour for every guild to make their entrance and take their lap before the ceremony truly got under way, as teams of mages got to work on their display of artistry to awe the spectating masses.

As a lone figure slammed their staff into the floor, a ball of light was launched up in the centre of the arena, a brilliant revolving globe that floated up as it spun ever faster. When it reached its apex its speed increased, it became a disk that stretched out under its own forces before beginning to come apart. These broken edges formed into long threads that flew outwards in the thousands, before they slowly fell downwards to form a delicate mesh of light that hung over the audience.

Then, as the light began to fade from a pure white to dull silver, an orchestra of bards rose up in the centre of the arena; standing on a glass platform suspended by the same threads. With a wave of their hands, the conductor led them off, first gently, then slowly building up in both volume and tempo. All the while, the mages continued working, projecting images out into the air, using the mesh as an enormous screen, showing moments of triumph from the past. They began from the first ever games, tracking events all the way up until the previous year, before it all went dark and silent, leaving just the orb above. One second passed, then another and for a brief moment it seemed something may have gone wrong, before beads of red energy began racing up the mesh, collecting in the centre.

As it combined, it began to take form, the light shifting around until within the centre of the orb was a curled up bird. Without warning it twitched, the orb surrounding it cracking in places, before bursting open completely in a blaze of fire, noise and light. Taking its place was a phoenix, hovering as each flap of its wings sent waves of multi coloured flames out over the area. It let out a single cry, a piercing note that spoke of triumph and pride, before diving downwards, striking an ornate brazier at the southern end of the arena with explosive force. But as the blast faded, the brazier remained; now burning with a flame of ever shifting colours.

“And with that, ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer said, speaking up as the crowds broke out into rapturous applause. “The Champion Torch has been lit, and the games have officially begun.”

“That was impressive, but I don't know if that’s quite worth the applause.” Jicker said with a shrug.

“Haven’t you watched the games in the past few years?” Gabe said, his voice still solemn.

“I was... occupied.”

“...Right, well, they’re not just cheering the show, though that magic was pretty damn impressive, but now that the fire is lit, it’s time for the Melee.”

“Now? The guilds haven’t even gotten out of the arena yet.” Jicker asked, his eyebrows rising in surprise.

“We’ve got a few minutes,” Athena said from behind him as she grabbed his shoulder and began pushing forward. “But they like to strike while the iron's hot, and there’s nothing the crowds love more than monsters ripping each other apart. Now come on, we need to get down to the bay where we left your handiwork.”

They hurried out of the arena, the organization that was present for the ceremony dissolving as everyone scrambled to get ready for the Melee. People pushed past each other to get back to the halls they’d come from, to get down underneath the arena. There were hundreds of chambers below, going down several dozen levels to make sure there were enough spaces for five times this many competitors.

The Rising Moon had scored a chamber on the second floor so it didn’t take them long to get there. While there was no actual difference in the rooms, it was considered that the closer to the surface your team was, the better chance people thought you had of winning. The room itself didn’t hold too much, serving as little more than a locker room, with the additions of a lounge facing a projection of the arena, as well as a small kitchen. The main feature was a small teleportation circle, located in an alcove at the end of the room, which would take participants up to the surface.

Currently it was occupied by a tree stump, which buzzed slightly when curious guild members poked at it. They’d been warned about it to avoid any incidents getting it here, which had been an ordeal in and of itself. But now it was here, and ready to be shown off to the world.

“Anything else this needs before it’s sent out?” one of the people poking it asked.

Jicker looked at it for a moment then shook his head. “It’s as good as it’s going to get. Send the message and tell them we’re ready.”

The guild member nodded and typed out a quick message to the officials, before the circle lit up moments later.

“Okay boys and girls,” Athena said, clapping to get people’s attention but wincing slightly as the stump buzzed again. “The Melee is about to start, so everyone grab your drinks and head into the lounge. Let’s see just how effective our newest member’s handiwork is.”

As if her words were the signal needed, the circle lit up filling the alcove with blue light before fading just as quickly leaving it empty. On screen they saw hundreds of similar lights fill the arena, as beasts of every nature were brought in to fight.

~~~~~~

The moment the combatants arrived, the crowds broke out in cheers. To ensure no one tried to get an unfair advantage, no one was required to identify their entrant before the event, as long as it followed the rules and met the criteria. Meaning this was the first time that the audience, the other teams, or the announcers had actually seen most of the creatures in front of them. They were given a few minutes to look over the field, as there were isolating barriers around each creature, to give the guilds a few moments to show off their work before the coming bloodbath. While simply subduing another creature was acceptable to have it eliminated, death was almost always the result.

“Okay, here we go people, what are we looking at tonight?!” Bob shouted as he hunched forward closer to the screen in front of him, scanning the field.

“Bob it’s a real zoo out there,” Mindy said while doing the same. “I'm seeing demons, I’m seeing bears, I'm even seeing... what I swear is some kind of... emoji golem? Can we zoom in on that real quick?”

The cameras blurred as the winged constructs flew over the field to their target, showing people a floating sphere, covered in familiar faces and images, each lighting up before going dim again.

“Well, that’s definitely a new one Mindy, we’ll have to see if it’s just a joke entry, or it’s more than meets the eye. On the other hand, the combatant over there doesn’t leave much to the imagination.”

Again the screens blurred as the visions moved, now focused on a semi translucent blue humanoid, wearing a tartan kilt and wielding an enormous glowing greatsword.

“Well, that’s hardly what I expected to see tonight, but it’s that sort of nonsense that people watch Minion Melee for. And I've just gotten the signal, the barriers are about to fall, so everyone make sure your eyes are open because it’s about to get messy. The barriers fall in three! Two! One! Fight!”

On that word, the walls dropped and all hell broke loose. Every being on the field that had been summoned had been given the same order: defeat everything else. So the moment the walls fell, hundreds of blasts of energy, flying spears and hails of arrows were unleashed. Before the echoes of the announcers words faded away, a quarter of the competition had already fallen with the incapacitated being sent back below, the dead lying were they fell.

But that was only the opening salvo, and it only grew worse from there. A small penguin waddled forwards from its starting point, sprays of mist from its wings freezing anything that came near. A large slime had been brought in that now began slowly rolling across the field, simply swallowing those it covered. Not that it was enough to kill most creatures, causing smaller fights to break out inside it. One surprise came when a skeletal death knight went and tried to strike down what appeared to be a swollen, wobbling potato.

“And there’s definitely going to be some rule investigations on that people!” Bob said as the smoke cleared. “I'm not sure what rules there are at the moment on how many explosives you can send into the melee, but there will be some by tomorrow I'm sure.”

The blast from what had apparently been potato stuffed with alchemic explosives, had decimated a section of the field, leaving only half the initial combatants left. While it thinned out the completion, it also made some of the smarter beasts a little more cautious about approaching things that seemed harmless. This meant that a large ogre, which had so far been recklessly tearing through its opponents, slowed down slightly before clawing at a rotten tree stump.

At the first sign of the wood breaking, the swarm inside boiled out, dozens, then hundreds of dazzling colours filling the air above the stump, before diving in unison on the ogre. On their own, the damage they dealt wouldn’t have even been noticed by the hulking creature, but with almost a thousand of them? It took only seconds for the ogre to collapse to its knees as blood poured from countless wounds over its body, all being absorbed by the hive before the ogres comatose form was teleported away.

“Now those are beautiful!” Mindy exclaimed. “Swing around and get a better look at those, but maybe don't get too close. Bob, what do you make of them?”

Bob squinted as he looked at the shimmering swarm. “Hmm, another interesting first appearance. Gary, could we get an appraisal..? Oh, they’ve already sent the information up? Fantastic, pass it on through.”

Mosaic Daggerwing Hive

Level: 44

This Organism disguises itself by blending into the terrain and feeding off nutrients in the soil around it.

Special abilities: When threatened, it releases a swarm of drones it produces and stores inside to subdue the threat without killing it, allowing the hive to feed on spilt blood without drawing attention from larger predators. The colouration of the wings helps to distract, disorientate or scare off foes that couldn’t be otherwise beaten.

Created by: Rising Moon (Guild)

“Well I’ll be!” the Orcish announcer shouted. “That’s not just a summoned beast, nor something they’ve tamed or built! It’s another of these new creatures that have been popping up lately, and apparently the Rising Moon made it themselves. I'm sure there will be a lot of people interested in how they’ve pulled that off!”

The Daggerwings were certainly getting a lot of attention, and not just from the audience. While they were small, their rapid movements and shifting colours made them seem like a single, larger opponent to deal with. More than one beast ran at them teeth bared, only to be cut to ribbons as the razor sharp wings of the swarm enveloped them. The demons that stood back throwing flames managed little better, their blasts doing little damage over all. While a number were destroyed by the infernal heat, more than enough remained to make short work of them once they gained the swarms attention.

But it couldn’t last forever. While the swarm effectively took out a large number of opponents, it wasn’t suited against everything. A heavily armoured troll pushed its way forwards, the thick metal plate blocking the majority of the razor edges flying around it. What did get through was comparatively minor, and healed by the troll’s natural regeneration. When the troll reached the hive the swarm tried one last ditch effort, hovering above the hive in formation. The colours and patterns quickly shifted, forming a gigantic bestial face, seeming to roar down at the attacking troll. Whether by its conditioning or its own stubbornness it ignored the visual threat, and pushed on before crushing the hive with a blackened club. When the hive broke, a ripple spread through the swarm, the Daggerwings freezing in place before crashing to the ground, wings shattering on impact.

~~~~~~

“Noooooo!” Gabe shouted, jumping out of his seat. “They were doing so well!”

Oda finished his beer before grabbing another bottle and replying. “We expected this, remember? By nature the Melee is almost impossible to win, but we should have earned some decent points for that showing.”

“And more importantly,” Athena said from her raised chair at the back of the room. “We got a bit of unexpected advertising from the announcers there, so we’ll make sure to capitalize on that. Jicker, you’ve got them ready?”

The gremlin next to her looked down at a small bag, opening it to see just under a hundred glittering seeds.

“Ready and waiting, but what do you want them for?” he asked.

“Business, my correctly sized friend. It’s always about business.”

~~~~~~

When the hive was destroyed, there were less than a fifth of the competitors remaining, most of whom were wounded or exhausted. The troll that had done in the hive could have gone the distance, but was dominated by a succubus and turned against another group of large beasts, causing them to tear each other apart. The emoji golem had been proving surprisingly effective, firing off force blasts in strange shapes that sent its opponents flying into the walls of the arena. But it was destroyed as well when a large ape leapt on top of it, pressing down with a heavy shield in an attempt to crush it. When the golem fired upwards at its attacker, the recoil drove it into the ground, cracking the floor, the shield and the golem.

Finally there were just a handful of fighters left, all picking each other off one by one. The succubus was proving a powerful threat, making its enemies protect it while it went to work against others. But a mindless stone elemental proved its undoing, ignoring its enchantments and burying it under a barrage of stone, before being taken down in turn. Its killer was a small blue drake that had been keeping to the edges, flying up out of reach and picking off anything that came close with blasts of superheated steam.

For a moment it seemed like it was the victor, with nothing else moving on the field. But as the drake reared its head back in triumph, a blur shot towards it from underneath a pile of bodies. It impacted heavily against the throat of the flying predator, revealing it to be an ant little more than a foot long, though its impressive jaws were half as long again. These jaws were currently clamped heavily around the drake’s neck, cutting in deeply as the force of its jump drove its prey against the arena wall before both of them fell to the ground below. The drake tried to claw at its attacker, but the ant’s carapace proved too tough for a creature that normally fought at a distance. The drakes movements slowed, then it lit up as its unmoving body was teleported back to its waiting guild, leaving the Melee with its champion.

“And there we have it folks, in a surprise finish, the winners of the Minion Melee this year is the Sand Slayer guild, and their entry: DefiAnt, the Black Jumper Ant.”

Mindy groaned. “Congratulations on your victory, but that’s the worst name ever.”

Bob grinned at the camera. “And it will go down in the games history, as the first victory in this year’s Champion Games. While the arena is being cleared and repaired, we’ll be sending a reporter to introduce you to a few of the teams competing in the crafting contest. These teams will have only two weeks to produce the finest items they can, in a number of different categories.”

“Some truly lovely creations are made every year, and I'm sure this one will be no different Bob. You can also find a list of other scheduled events on our website down below, and we’ll be giving you the day’s highlights at eight o’clock Genesis time every day. For now, this is Mindy Lawless.”

“And I’m Brutal Bob, signing off.”